Comfort
by Just Playing Along
Summary: When Lily's parents are killed in the summer before seventh year, the ministry refuses to release her into an unsafe environment. She can either stay in the ministry's system, or you guessed it- with the Potters. More chapters to come
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: All characters and the inspiration for this story belong to a very special J.K. Rowling (and possibly Warner Brothers.. I'm not quite sure.)

This could not be happening to her. There was no way that this could be happening. Lily screamed in front of her parents' body as she sobbed on the floor grabbing at anything to keep her from going completely insane.

A block down the road she knew what had happened. The dark mark still showing in the sky above her house. Lily completely forgot about the bags she had been carrying and raced down the sidewalk. Her hands shook as she pushed open the door that was practically hanging off its hinges and then she saw them. She saw the fearful look in their eyes as they were still loosely embracing one another.

Lily jumped of the floor and pointed her wand at the door as she heard a pop outside of her house, but the tears didn't subside. A tall man entered first, showing his hands but still holding his wand ready, and several others entered after him.

"who are you and what are you doing you?" Lily demanded her voice shaky but strong.

"Miss Evans you need not be afraid, You may call me Charles. I work with the ministry, and we got word of the Dark Mark sighting," The man answered in a reassuring voice.

Lily refused to put her wand down until Professor Dumbledore strode through the door seeming very tense. "Miss Evans," he began, "Charles can be trusted."

Those words were the only words Lily needed to hear before she collapsed on the ground again, clutching her sides and babbling about what had happened that afternoon. A petite girl not much older than Lily immediately pushed past the people in the room and grasped Lily, hugging her tightly to her. She whispered calming words, having little impact on Lily's sobs, but distracting her long enough to slowly guide her away from her parents' bodies.

The afternoon passed in a blur. Lily's eyes did not focus on anyone after she had time alone with her parents. She did not look at anyone or anything except for a small stain on the living room floor. Dumbledore had told her that Petunia was being contacted, but it was unlikely she would arrive in a timely manner, as she was on vacation with Vernon. She was being taken to the ministry to give a statement, afterwards they would discuss where she was to stay for the time being. Lily's head was swimming and she was blocking out all of her emotions so as not to fall apart again in front of so many people from the ministry, she vaguely realized that she was put into a car or that the driver was trying to make conversation.

"Miss Evans can you please clarify why you were out?" The ministry official questioned.

"I've told you, I was buying groceries. Mum-" Lily took a deep breath as she attempted to remain composed, "Mum wanted to cook a special supper for me because I was named head girl."

Lily didn't understand why, but she continued to be looked at with suspicion. Charles walked in and escorted her out shortly after.

"Miss Evans, we've tried to contact the young ladies you told us about, but unfortunately have had no luck. It is protocol to release people in this situation into a safe environment. I may have a proposition for you, but I fear you may be against it. It is my duty to remind you that should you not accept this offer you will be placed in the care of the Department of Magical Mishaps and Tragedies." Lily nodded for him to continue. "You go to school with my son, Miss Evans. I was reluctant to mention it until now because I have been informed that the two of you are often not on the best of terms. However, you are welcome to stay with us, and I can assure you that you will have plenty of space and can most likely completely avoid James should you wish-"

"James? James Potter?" Lily looked as if she had swallowed something absolutely wretched and panic lightly etched her features.

"Yes. Miss Evans, as I said this is your only option for the time being without being placed in the ministries system. I urge you to accept and my wife and I will do our best to keep James away from you while you are going through this difficult time."

Lily looked deep in though and slowly nodded her head. "I suppose it would be best to be with people I know- even if it is Potter.."

Mr. Potter looked relieved and let out a large breath of air. "Excellent, we can use the floo network. "

Lily arrived in the Potter manor looking extremely tired and worn down. She barely had time to look around the room before a short slightly pudgy woman rushed to her side and began hugging her.

"Hello, Lily, Charles sent word you were coming. My name is Edith. If you'll follow me, I'll show you to your room." Lily nodded numbly and was led up a grand staircase in the entrance hall, down several hallways and eventually into a large room centered around a luxurious four-poster bed. Lily was looking around as she heard Mrs. Potter mention having to do something and that she would be back soon.

The bed was extremely large, covered in a white comforter and plush pillows. The floor was dark hard wood and the majority of the other furniture was white as well. A large window was positioned on the wall opposite from her and it was draped with airy curtains. Overall, Lily felt like she was in a high class hotel room. Her trunk was sitting at the foot of the bed and she also realized that some of her nicer clothes were hung in the closet. "Mrs. Potter!" She called down the hall, "Why are my all my clothes-" Lily did not get a chance to finish her statement as a large explosion literally shook the hall, and two boys scrambled out of a room down the hall, followed by dark gray smoke.

"Merlin, mate, that was bloody fantastic!" The shorter of the boys exclaimed.

The taller boy did not answer. He was focused on the girl curled up in the corner of hall who was visibly shaking. Ordinarily he would have rushed to help, as most people weren't accustomed to his pranks, but James stood utterly shocked at the curtain of red hair in front of the girl's face. It could only be one person, "Evans?"

* * *

A/N: okay guys this is my first chapter to put up here ever. I will be posting more chapters (given that I have time and my un-tech-savvy self can figure it out). I would love reviews and feedback! -Just Playing Along


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: all characters and ideas belong to J.K. **

Hearing his voice, Lily looked up, still shaking uncontrollably and trying very hard to conceal her teary eyes. James, however, leapt into action upon seeing her in a weakened state. He rushed over to her and gently pulled her to him. It wasn't until Lily was in his arms that she was no longer able to stop herself from crying. She burst into tears and desperately clung to his shirt sleeve.

"I thought- I felt the explosion- and then I- Death Eaters- I just- my parents-" She continue to splutter out her thoughts, making no sense to James or Sirius.

"Evans, calm down. It's alright. Blimey if I knew you would react like-" James' mother cut him off as she rounded the corner looking thoroughly angry.

"James Potter! Sirius Black! How dare you both behave so wretchedly when there is company!" Her voice softened as she took hold of Lily and brought her to her feet. "come dear, come and lie down." As Mrs. Potter guided Lily into her room, she called over her shoulder that Sirius and James were to go outside immediately, she would find them when she was ready. "Sweetheart, why don't you rest for a while. You've had quite a long day. I will bring up some tea and biscuits, you can have them whenever you feel up to it," Edith said as she coaxed her into lying down. She softly closed the drapes and when she turned around, Lily was already asleep.

"Honestly you two! You can't just go one day without making a mess! And Heaven forbid I try to separate the two of you! Now, Lily has had a very tragic day and it is up to you both to not make it worse. Your father had to try very hard to convince her into coming here, and the two of you are NOT to bother her. Am I clear?" Mrs. Potter ended in a huff and stared at her two sons, as she had accepted Sirius into her family when she realized he infuriated her like only her son could.

"But Mum, what happened to her? Maybe I could help-"

"You are NOT to bother her! Now get back in the house and I expect your mess to be cleaned up in the next hour using NO MAGIC, otherwise its no quidditch for a week." James sighed, knowing his mother would not tell him anything. He pushed Sirius towards to house, his mind already going at a mile a minute to come up with a plan that would not only find a loophole in his mother's words, but also help Lily.

He knew he had feelings for her. His mates knew he had feelings for her. Hell, even the professors knew he had feelings for her. But to her, his attempts at humor and getting her on a date were arrogant and unwanted. He had stopped badgering her so much after the event that happened with Snivellus; he saw how much he had hurt her. But even last year as he tried to become friends with her, she had merely responded by turning her nose up at him.

He had to help her, it was the only way he could see that she would ever talk to him again.

Sirius and James had been cleaning up remnants of their latest project for the better part of an hour. They were testing charms that would be best fit to accompany dung bombs, but were using other objects that didn't have an odor. Sirius had almost given up when James had the brilliant idea of combining two spells, and they practically destroyed James drawing room, or as they had named it "Marauder HQ".

"What can we do, Padfoot? I've got to get Lily this year, it's our last year at Hogwarts!"

Sirius finally swept up the last pile ash before looking at James. "Look Prongs, I know you want to help. But you don't even know what's wrong with her yet! You can't possibly expect her to tell you when the two of you have had a maximum of three civil conversations."

James ignored the second half of Sirius' reasoning, seemingly in denial. "Alright, so I just have to get her to tell what happened. Then we can work from there."

"Normally I'd be all for it mate," Sirius responded, "but your mother said not to bother her. I honestly don't want the wrath of your mother on my head."

James looked amused at his words. "Now, how well do you know me? She said not to _bother _her. She said nothing about simply talking to her."

With that, James started planning.

Lily awoke suddenly after a horrible nightmare, having no idea where she was. She turned to inspect this odd room and saw a note saying 'Lily, eat up. I ran to the store, but Charles is here if you need _anything_. James should not bother you anymore. -Edith' in a pretty handwriting.

Lily shuddered as she took in the note. It wasn't a nightmare. She had come home from the store to find her parents dead. She was staying with the Potters as an orphan. Lily felt ill; she rushed across the hall to the bathroom only to find the door shut and the sound of water running. The door was however, unlocked and Lily barged in, before gripping the toilet. She breathed deeply and coughed, but didn't get sick.

"Padfoot is that you?" A voice called somewhere in the background. Lily was unable to answer as she was still trying very hard not to be sick. "Hello?" Lily was still unable to answer as the water stopped and the shower curtain slid open. "_Merlin! _EVANS?!"

She now recognized the voice as James Potter, and heard the shower curtain slide shut with haste.

"Sorry. I-uh- I felt ill," She told him in a thick voice, not realizing that she had started crying until she heard the tears through her voice.

It was silent for a good minute before James responded cautiously, "Evans, are you alright?"

"Umm I suppose not. I'll be fine just-" James didn't hear the rest of her statement because she rushed out the door. James sighed and grabbed his towel, wrapping it around his waist before following her out, almost smacking into her closed bedroom door.

"Evans," He called gently, "May I come in?"

"Actually Potter now is not a good time" She responded with an even thicker voice than she used previously.

"Lily," James said barely above a whisper, "Please"

He waited outside the door for several silent moments before the door opened, revealing her tear stained face.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Yep, still belongs to Jo

_He waited outside the door for several silent moments before the door opened, revealing her tear stained face_.

James looked at her intently, this being the third time he's ever seen her cry and the second time today. "Lily, I have no idea what's happened. And I understand you might not want to talk about it, but please don't be alone. At least let me sit in here for a while. Mum should be home in about an hour and you can talk to her if you'd like"

She nodded and opened the door wider for him to come in. James looked at her trunk in the room and saw all her clothes, wondering what would have happened to make her stay with them so long- not that he minded. She crawled into her bed mumbling an apology for walking into the bathroom while he was showering. Just for safe measure, James picked up the trashcan by the door and moved it next to her bed before sitting in the chair next to her in case she needed to be sick again.

She sat staring at the wall seemingly to tired to do anything. "So Evans," James began, "I heard you got head girl. Is your family happy?"

Lily's eyes immediately got watery and she focused all her energy on the next sentence, trying to get through it. "Yes, they are-" _were. _She said in her head. _They were_. She could no longer hold her emotions in check and for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day, Lily cried. She cried for her parents, and her sister. She cried because the last words she said to them were "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'm just going to get groceries" and she didn't bother to return her mother's "I love you" as she trounced out the door. She cried because she just _knew _that Snape would know about what had happened. And he would look at her like she was a dog on the side of the road when he was probably instrumental in putting her there. She cried because she was so full of hate towards so many things in her life.

James didn't hesitate to lay next to her and pull her to him. She seemed so broken. And what had caused it? Him asking about head girl? Her family? _Her family. _James remembered his father getting a letter this morning and his mother muttering something about protocol and a safe place. James knew a lot about the ministry, but having Lily here would mean that she was no longer safe at home.

"Lily, what happened?" He asked so quiet that he could barely hear it himself.

And Lily told him. About her last word to them, about running as fast as possible towards her house as if it wasn't already too late. As she told him about what had only happened this morning she continued to cry. He sat them both up and pulled her into his lap, smoothing her hair with one hand while the other was holding her close to him.

After she ended her story she wriggled on top of him to lean her head on his chest. It was then that James realized he was still very much naked.

"Erm.. Lily, I'll be right back, are you going to be okay?" Lily nodded and James scrambled off her bed and rushed out of the room, trying to keep his back to her.

Back in James' room he thought of how awful he was. He put her into a position where she practically had to tell him about her parents- although it was unintentional. And afterwards, he pays more attention to her body and how her ass was practically setting on top of him and his body decides it would be an amazing time to begin getting a hard-on.

James threw on his clothes and resolved his problem. He was about to reenter Lily's room when he heard a voice behind him.

"And what do you think you are doing? I specifically told you not to bother her." James groaned as he turned to his mother. He could tell she was already getting angry, and he tried to tell her that Lily was sick and he wanted to comfort her. Mrs. Potter did not accept his reasoning though, and pushed him back towards his room as she entered to talk to Lily.

After James relayed the whole incident to Sirius, sans his uncomfortable situation, Sirius looked very deep in thought.

"So what can I do to help her?" He asked Sirius as he finished recounted the entire story.

"I think you should give Lily time, mate. D'you remember the first week I was here? I practically never spoke. I needed time to accept what'd happened- or so your mum tells me. This just happened to Lily _this morning, _her head is probably reeling. And I'm not saying she would, but it might be possible that she regrets telling you-"

"What's that supposed to men?" James interjected angrily.

Sirius sighed before continuing. "I just think that Lily was in a vulnerable position and maybe when she's feeling better it will be uncomfortable."

"That's absolutely bonkers! Lily has stopped hating me. You'll see." James finished and stomped out of Sirius' room to start planning on his own. But the thing he realized was that Lily probably hadn't stopped hating him. She probably thought he was still the same arrogant toerag he had been in fifth year. So James knew he had to be the person she could not only be friends with but _love_ before the year was over. No distractions.

Lily decided that she was exhausted of crying.

Mrs. Potter left her alone again, and Lily began eating the biscuits she had left. Her entire body was in pain. She was sore from running and crying and almost getting sick. But it was not just physical pain; Lily's soul felt like it had shattered. Her mind was in excruciating turmoil trying to process that she would never see her parents again.

She pushed thoughts of her parents away from her and focused on something else. James. He had been very sweet to her today. And surprisingly, she was able to open up to him.

She remembered the day she had had enough with James. The same day Snape called her that horrible word. She had decided that neither of the were worth her time. But hadn't he attempted to make amends just as many times as Snape had?

Lily decided that she needed him. And not because she had feelings for him like she knew James did. No, she needed him as a distraction. And he damn well better be one for her.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: This franchise and these characters belong to J.K. only!

A/N: Okay guys so this is the fourth chapter I'm posting (clearly). I'm not sure how many more there will be, but I have an idea for the general plot that I'm assuming will take at least 10-15 more chapters. The rating may change to M depending on how I'm feeling about Jily's relationship but that won't be until wayyy later. Reviews are always welcome good or bad just try not to be too mean please. Also! I know it seems odd that Lily is using James essentially but that won't be the main focus, just kind of an underlying angle. BUT, she isn't the "bad guy" in the story and I don't plan on making her out to be one, I promise. And without further chatter...

In the week that followed, Lily spent much time by herself. She mostly read or slept in her room. Mr. Potter had taken the liberty of working with the ministry to both find Petunia and give her the news and arrange her parents' funerals. James had been surprisingly distant; he still comforted her when she need it, but she had stopped crying so often. She still planned on using James as a distraction, but it was very difficult as he seemed to begin avoiding her the day after she walked into the bathroom on him in the shower.

Term started in one month, and Lily was so overwhelmed with all the new responsibilities she would take on. Dumbledore had come to the Potter manor to explain how he informed her and the Head boy earlier than normal because he was worried about the war affecting students' lives at Hogwarts. He would need their help in keeping everyone safe.

Lily walked down the staircase into the living room.

"I'll say Prongsie, I thought you were finally giving up, but I must say this is the best plan you've come up with so far." She heard Sirius tell him.

When they saw her they both sat up straight and quieted down. She sighed rolling her eyes "I'm not going to put a stop to every one of your pranks anymore, I'm not a prefect during the summer," she spoke with a gravelly voice on account that she hadn't used it in so long.

James pondered her words for a while before gasping "Evans! Are you giving us permission to prank? You realize that this means you cannot call me a toerag if some of your possessions are destroyed."

Little did James know that Lily was doing her own planning, and saw the perfect opportunity to spring it into action. "Of course, just make sure make it up to me afterwards," she chuckled as she left swaying her hips for good measure.

Sirius and James were left dumbfounded and looked at each other before muttering things like, "What the hell was that?" "Blimey maybe your plan will work" "that was definitely not normal" simultaneously. Lily however, knew perfectly well what she was doing. She had to get James to "agree" to being a distraction, and by that she meant she had to trick him into it. It's not like he would be too hurt right? It's not like he was in _love _with her.

The three of them were lounging about Potter manor. Lily was reading a book, James was lazily catching the snitch in his room down the hall. Sirius had been bored all day but had not gotten James in the mod to do anything remotely fun and he had not had the guts to enter Lily's room. He had wanted to go outside that morning, but the rain made it much less tempting. Then he thought he would plan some pranks for when term started, but a single marauder was not allowed to plan pranks on others alone; the code said that two or more marauders had to work together, just in case things went south. There was _nothing, _however, about playing pranks on each other; it was actually considered practice and was expected.

Sirius smirked before muttering "_Sonorous. _Prongs! Lily! Come down here quick!" He quickly hid behind the door to the downstairs parlor and waited to hear their footsteps. As soon as they crossed the threshold, Sirius slammed the door shut and muttered a spell to lock all three of them inside. They turned around bewildered.

"Sirius, what the hell?" Lily exclaimed.

"Honestly Padfoot! I thought something what the matter," James still looked startled but was running his hand through his hair as an attempt to calm his nerves.

"Something is the matter. I have been bored all day and neither of you has made any attempt to entertain me in the least. I for one am tired of it! So as Prongs and Moony so often tell me to do, I solved my own problem. The three of us are now locked in this room until the spell I have set wears off… probably around 4 hours." He looked very smug when he stopped talking while James and Lily just looked thoroughly confused. "Oh honestly, is it that hard to understand? We are stuck here. Together. So we need to play a game or do something because, _Merlin_, I can _feel _myself becoming more like Moony."

Lily had her mouth in a thin line and she seemed to be suppressing the urge to hit him. James however was grinning like an idiot. "Padfoot, do you realize that it's nearly lunchtime?"

"Yes my dear Prongsie, but I already ate."

"Good.. So do you remember how Evans gets when she is hungry?" At James' words Sirius' smile immediately dropped. He looked like he was having an internal conflict between abandoning his entire plan and begging Lily not to hex him into next century.

"Evans… uh.. It's alright Evans.. There is a small gap under the door.. Right? So all we have to do is accio the food to us and shrink it and then get it through the crack in the door?" He finished looking hopeful and Lily gestured which could only mean one thing 'go ahead, try it'.

"Accio peanut butter!" Sirius shouted towards the door until they heard scattered thuds in the kitchen and a loud bang on the door. He then lowered his wand towards the bottom of the door and released it. Then he muttered a shrinking spell and again summoned the jar until it was sitting in the palm of him hand. Lily looked him for several moments with a glare before smirking and returning the jar to it's original size.

"I can't believe that actually worked," she muttered. "Alright Black, get some bread in here and let's do something shall we?"

Sirius looked overjoyed, "_Finally!_ Evans makes a reasonable suggestion!"

During the entire exchange James was watching carefully in case he had to intervene, but at Lily's words he visibly relaxed. "Alright, so what should we do then?"

Sirius simply laughed at his question, "That Prongs, is why we have this," he brought over a box with several pieces of paper in it that had activities on them, "Now… who wants first draw?"


	5. Chapter 5

Once again, nothing belongs to me. It is all J.K.'s, I promise!

_"Now… who wants first draw?"_

Lily shrugged and reached into the box and swirling her hand around. She grasped a small ball of parchment in her fingers. "Never have I ever? What is that?"

James groaned. "Honestly Sirius, we are not playing this," Lily gave him a questioning look and James sighed. "Padfoot has been wanting to play this with us since fourth year and we have refused on account that it is a game twelve year old girls play at sleepovers."

"Evans drew it, Prongs! We have to do it. Those are the rules," he said resolutely before turning to Lily. "Okay Evans, listen up. There are several renditions of the game, some people take shots when you 'lose', others just start over. Since we have no access to fire whiskey in here, we will have to improvise. So. How to play. You hold up five fingers and we take turns saying things we haven't done. If somebody says something that you _have_ done, you put a finger down. When you run out of fingers you lose… and since we're not making this the adult version-"

"Which again means it's for twelve year old girls," James interjected.

"-we can dare each other to do something," Sirius finished, not responding to James in any way except giving him a rude hand gesture.

"Alright, sure. Let's play," Lily agreed nodding her head.

Sirius had somewhat prepared his prank beforehand and had laid several blankets on the couch. He took a seat in the armchair across from the couch while James sprawled on the couch and Lily made a pallet for herself before lying on the floor. They all decided that the game would move faster if they had dares already planned out, so Sirius pulled out parchment and quills from a drawer in the desk and they spent several minutes writing down dares. After that, they folded up each dare and put them in a pile in the middle of the floor and Sirius decided he wanted to start the game.

"Never have I ever… gone to Hogsmeade without a date," he said smugly, to which James and Lily both put fingers down.

James looked annoyed before he finally resigned to playing the game and half heartedly said, "Never have I ever- _Merlin _I feel like such a prat- brewed a polyjuice potion." Sirius shook his head but Lily reluctantly out another finger down. "You have Evans?! When?" He and Sirius shouted at almost the same time.

"It was fourth year, Alice and I did it for Halloween. That year we didn't dress up? We did, but nobody knew. It was actually quite fun," She finished her story and blushed at the look of shock on both the boys faces. "Anyways… Never have I ever kissed a girl," She smirked as both James and Sirius put a finger down, both mumbling something about "not fair" and "playing a gender card".

"Never have I ever kissed a boy!" Sirius shouted as Lily glared at him and put one of her own fingers down

They kept going for another round until Sirius had two fingers, James had one, and Lily had just put her final one down. "Alright Evans, pick your dare," Sirius yelled too enthusiastically accompanied by a sinister laugh.

She reached out hesitantly, fearing what the two boys thought were reasonable dares. "I hope you know I reserve the right to deny any dare if it is to ridiculous," she informed them. Finally, Lily took a large folded piece of parchment and opened it. 'wear your underwear on the outside of your clothes' it read in Sirius' handwriting. She looked at him and threw it towards him before he read it and roared with laughter.

"I think you should do it Evans. I promise you there are ones that are worse and I'm only allowing you one veto."

She groaned and stood up, "Is there at least a place I can go to do this?" She questioned Sirius.

He looked around before grabbing two of the blankets, "Prongs and I could hold these?"

"And I'm supposed to trust that neither of you will try anything when you know what I'm doing behind them?" she said before looking at him annoyed.

James interjected, confused. "I'd like to point out that I have absolutely no idea what you'll be doing." Sirius threw the parchment to him and he read it before smirking. "I promise I won't try anything Evans, not that I wouldn't want to. But if it means anything, I can also guarantee that there are worse things than this in that pile."

Lily groaned again before tossing a blanket to both Sirius and James and heading to the far corner of the room. Normally she would have charmed the blankets to float while she changed but she didn't trust the boys not to make them see-through while she was behind them, so she took both of their wands with her and insisted they hold the blankets themselves. When they both held the blankets up and she was in a small "booth" area she took off her robes and shirt. Why hadn't she asked Marlene to show that trick to take her bra off without taking off her shirt as well?

Outside the blankets Sirius was grinning like a madman. James however, upon hearing the rustle of clothes on the other side of the blanket, seemed to be very interested in the ceiling and was looking very strained. In addition, he was gripping the blanket so hard that his knuckles were practically white. Sirius saw this and gave a small chuckle to which James threw him an 'if you ever tell anyone about this, I will kill you' look before taking a deep breath through his nose to try to veer his thoughts away from Lily. Big mistake.

When he breathed in, dust went in his nose making the urge to sneeze irresistible.

"ACHOOO!" James sneezed loudly, covering his mouth. This however also meant that he had to drop the sheet that Lily was currently changing behind.

"POTTER!" she screeched turning her shirtless- and braless- body away from him and covering herself quickly.

"Merlin Lily! I'm so sorry! I couldn't help it! I promise I didn't see anything, honest!" He explained in a rushed apology while he picked up the blanket and held it back up. He returned to his previous stance with eyes twice as wide and not blinking. Because he had lied. And if he blinked he would undoubtedly see the image of Lily's naked torso with her mouth open and hair disheveled that was permanently seared into his memory. And he could not deal with another problem like he had previously in the week, especially if they were all stuck together for the next three hours.

Lily finished dressing her torso quickly but after the sheet dropped she refused to put her panties on the outside of her shorts. Sirius was just going to have to deal with it.

She stepped out from behind the sheets her face bright red and she refused to even glance at James. Her bra, which everyone could now see, was white with green lace lining the top of each cup and a small green bow between the cups. Sirius, who had stayed behind his own blanket when James had dropped his, didn't seem to be bothered by the awkwardness already in the room and wolf whistled at her.

She ignored him and sat back in her place, "Where were we?" she asked, clearly annoyed but wanting to continue with the game.

"I was next," James muttered, also avoiding looking Lily's general direction.

Sirius was gazing at the pair of them amused. No matter how awkward the next three hours would be for the two of them, he was finally entertained.


	6. Chapter 6

Annnnddd just a reminder: these characters aren't mine! They are Jo's

Okay guys also: this chapters sort of short (man, say that 5 times fast) so I'm hoping to get the next one up soon. I've been writing a lot and breaking things into smaller chapters. the one after this will be at the Evans' funeral with a whooolllleee lotta JILY!

The next few hours were spent playing the game, everyone had gotten out at least three times, their dares ranging from having to lick peanut butter off the floor to James who had to stay awake for the next forty-eight hours. James, much to his chagrin, agreed that the game was actually pretty fun, and he made a deal to play with the other marauders once term started. In addition, after two more rounds, Lily seemed to have brushed off what happened with James, and James… pretended to. Finally, the three of them heard a loud click, and the parlor door swung open. Lily, who didn't want to risk changing again in front of them, drew a blanket around her body and headed towards the bathroom. After she left, Sirius saw his opportunity.

"You might fool Evans, Prongs, but I know you too well. You saw her didn't you?" Sirius asked him, careful to not sound too smug, otherwise James would get mad and tell him to shove off.

He coughed and stared straight ahead, "Yeah," he answered in a quiet voice.

"How is this going to affect the plan?" Sirius furthered. He did not need to know anything about what James saw, after all, Evans was James' girl, but he did want to know how it would impact James.

"Well, I can't very well try to focus on being a nice guy if I'm trying not to get hard every time she looks at me. Merlin, she was beautiful though… I'll just have to find a way to prioritize. She needs a nice bloke right now, so I have to be that. But after she's feeling more like herself, I won't feel so guilty about this."

Sirius didn't really get his answer, but he assumed it was because James didn't know yet either.

When he was about to ask him something else, Lily walked back in with a much different demeanor than she had when she left. "An owl just dropped this. It's an invitation to my parents' funeral. Your dad said that he did his best to keep it out of the prophet but there will probably be some reporters there. It's mostly for my family… but I'd really appreciate it if the two of you came." If Lily was being honest, she didn't know if the two of them should come. After all, they could not wear typical wizard clothes without drawing attention and the rest of Lily's family had no idea about Hogwarts, let alone anything else. But this would give her a chance to enact her plan. She was not ready to fully accept they were gone. Obviously she had to an extent, but she had pushed her feelings about the matter to the side and had not yet confronted them. She was not planning on it either. But she had realized that James was always there to comfort her, so if she made him believe she needed comfort, she could use him to distract herself from what was actually happening. So he needed to come with her. Even if logical Lily advised against it, the Lily that lost her parents decided that she didn't care.

James nodded immediately and stood up, but seemed to be debating whether to go to her or not. He decided to stay where he was and ran a hand through his hair as he said, "Of course, we wouldn't miss it. "

At supper that night, Charles mentioned how the prophet agreed not to run an article, and he had gotten the chief to sign a paper forbidding them to do so. Lily was grateful; she preferred to tell her friends about what had happened herself, and she certainly didn't need the entire school pitying her when she went back. James drank a large cup of coffee with his dinner, and wasn't speaking much as an attempt to 'conserve his energy' for the next 2 days.

Mr. Potter looked pained before he began speaking again. "Lily, we've also gotten word from your sister." Lily perked up at this and looked at him attentively. She knew that the she and Petunia had not been on the best of terms for the last several years, but she had been hoping they could put it all in the past. "She gave me this letter to pass on to you," He continued as he handed her an envelope.

Lily took it and eagerly opened it but her rational side knew that by the way Mr. Potter looked, Petunia had not been sisterly at all. "_Lily, I hope you are well. Vernon is accompanying me to the funeral. I will speak with you then. -Petunia,_" Lily read aloud. Her forehead creased as she reread it over and over. How could Petunia not have been more worried? This was not a good sign at all. She finished her supper quickly before making an excuse that she should write Petunia back so she could leave the table.

She really did try. Lily had sat in front of a blank piece of parchment for the better part of five hours, wondering what she wanted to say to her sister. How are you? What have you been doing the past six years when we've hardly spoken? Can you believe it? But Lily's mind kept replaying her words: I will speak with you _then_. Petunia didn't want to hear from Lily. She was perfectly fine with waiting until the funeral. Who was Lily to disagree with her? Finally Lily sighed and went downstairs for a cup of tea, knowing it would clear her head.

Sighing she went into the kitchen until she heard someone mumble "You cou'n't do it 'ould you?"

Lily whirled around to see a very drowsy looking James Potter drinking yet another cup of coffee. "What?" She questioned stepping closer to him.

"You couldn't write her could you?" He asked again, this time more alert. He looked directly at her and his eyes seemed to be demanding the answer but his features were soft.

"No. I had no idea what to say. She obviously doesn't want to hear from me, so it's fine. I'll just wait until the funeral." Lily finished and sat down next to him on the bench seat by the window at the kitchen table. "Have you been here all night? You know it's practically three in the morning."

"I'm not allowed to sleep 'member? I've got to stay 'ere 'cause it's close to the coffee pot." He let out a long breath and slumped over against the wall. Lily watched, somewhat amused until he started softly snoring. She shook him and he sat up mumbling a "Hmmm?" before slumping to the other side and landing on Lily's shoulder.

"James?" She asked softly while trying not to laugh. She tapped on his other shoulder before he shot up with wide eyes.

"I fell asleep didn't I? Gods, I honestly don't know if I can do this for another two days.." He put his head in his hands and grabbed the coffee mug in front of him before trying to take another swig. It, however, was empty. He stood up and wobbled before trying to make his way around Lily. When he was successfully past her he turned but his foot caught on one of the bench legs. He would of fallen straight to the ground if Lily had not been watching him so closely. Her arms shot out and she grabbed his middle, pulling his back towards her front. When she was no longer worried he would fall she made her way around him and pulled his arm over her shoulders.

"Okay, Potter, let's get you to bed." She said as she guided him up the stairs. He muttered something about the 'code' and 'dares' and 'never backing out' but she soothed his worry by double dog-daring him to go to sleep. Right when she had gotten half-sleeping James to his door, he stopped.

"I've 'ot to brush my teeth… I'll get cavities if I don't- I've 'ad too much coffee." He complained, sounding much like a little kid. Lily sighed and took him to the bathroom instead, so he wouldn't get cavities. He almost fell asleep twice with his toothbrush in his mouth before Lily had successfully brought him to his room. They entered and Lily realized it was the first time she'd actually been inside, it was much like hers except his was more personalized. He had Gryffindor colors everywhere as well as quidditch posters and school books. He had also taped up some small drawings on parchment that were particularly interesting to her. She dropped him carefully into his bed and was shocked when she felt the loss of his heat next to her. Even more shocking was that she felt odd without her hand gripping his muscular sides and torso. Thinking she was overtired, Lily shook it off, muttering a 'goodnight Potter' before shutting the door and heading to her own room to sort out her thoughts.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: These characters are _still _not mine. They are _still _J.K.'s

A/N: This chapter is rated like T++; there's no actual smut but there very well could have been... You've been warned ;)

The Evans' funeral was two days later. It was in a graveyard in Lily's hometown and it wasn't overly crowded but there was still a large amount of people. The first thing that James had decided on that morning was that he was going to be extremely attentive. If Lily even so much as drooped her shoulders, he would be ready and willing to give her a hug or reassuring pat on the back. Lily had also decided something that morning: James would be by her all day. Not that that was a necessity, but in order for him to be a distraction, she had to make him think that he had to be there too.

That morning, she came down the stairs wearing a black dress. It was relatively warm so she wore one with short sleeves that went to her knees. It had a v-neckline that she accented with a small silver pendant. Sirius and the Potters were all waiting downstairs for her and James offered her his arm on the way out the door. At the funeral, Lily sat on the front row along with Petunia, her grandparents, and several cousins. James and Sirius sat on the third row with Mrs. Potter, but James' father had been very alert all day and was standing at the back of the chairs.

The service was lovely, Lily and Petunia both spoke about their parents. They both seemed very upset, as expected, but nether one cried, the most that happened to Lily was her eyes became watery and she spoke in a shaking voice. After the Evans were buried everyone gave their condolences to Lily and Petunia.

James was watching closely until he saw the back of a boys head walking towards Lily. He had greasy shoulder length black hair that James instantly recognized. He walked quickly around the crowd and made his way to a statue by Lily, so he was unobtrusive but could still here what was being said.

"I saw the dark mark that day," Snape told her, "I'm very sorry."

Lily nodded her head but still looked pained and confused to why he was there.

"I hope you got the message," he continued, "The Dark Lord isn't very fond of mudbloods." He gave her a sneer when he finished and was about to walk away when a fist came out of nowhere and punched his jaw.

"I thought I told you not to say that word," James gritted out before grabbing his shirt collar and practically throwing him out. When he turned back he saw Lily staring blankly at Petunia who was talking to her intently. He made his way back over and caught the end of their conversation.

"-you are not welcome with Vernon and I. We don't want you! I can't believe I didn't see this sooner, it's _your fault they're dead,_" she spat out and stalked away.

If James didn't know Lily so well he would think she hadn't heard any of the horrible things Petunia had said to her. But James did know her, and her saw her eyes flash with hurt before resuming their blank stare. He glared at Petunia as she passed him and jogged over to Lily, pulling her into a tight hug without thinking about it. She was unresponsive at first but her shoulders fell and she laid her head on James' chest before wrapping her arms around him as well.

They stayed like that for ten minutes; James was gently swaying back and forth and side to side with Lily held tightly to him. Finally, the last guests left and he looked down at her, "Are you almost ready to leave?" he murmured. When she nodded her head, he unwillingly loosened his hold on her. "I'll go speak with dad, why don't you speak to your parents until I'm back?" she nodded again, more hesitantly this time. As she walked away from him he felt her warmth leave him and wished she was back in his arms. "Dad, I think Lily is almost ready to go. She seems exhausted, I think it's important to not stay much longer," he explained to his father.

His father smiled at him, "Of course, James, just make sure she's alright," He told James with a knowing smile.

James waited at a respectful distance for Lily, who was in front of her parents' graves. He could not her what she was saying but her hands were gesturing and she appeared to be shaking her head a lot. Her eyes were watery once again when she turned around but she took a deep breath and willed herself not to cry. She walked towards James and seemed to reconnect with him like a magnet as he turned and walked with her, not saying a word.

At the Potter manor that night Lily was in her room with the door shut. She knew Snape would show up, but she did not expect him to say those things to her. Had he told Voldemort how vulnerable her parents were? Was it his fault they were dead? But another part of Lily argued that it was _her _fault. Petunia had been right, if she had not been born a witch, her parents would still be alive. She would never have met Snape so he would never have tipped off the Death Eaters. It _was _her fault. Overall, Lily just decided she was tired. She needed a break from worrying about all of this, and she knew just how to get it

James was in bed stewing over the events of the day. How _dare _Snivellus act like that towards Lily. The marauders would definitely have to spend some _special _time on him this school year. And Petunia? How could she have said it was Lily's fault? He felt so bad for her. She seemed so tired of being strong. Merlin, he wished she would just break down and open up.

Right as he thought that, a small knock came at him door. "Can I come in?" Lily said from the other side of the door.

James did a quick glance around his room to make sure it wasn't too messy before he opened his door and revealed Lily. His jaw almost dropped open, but he was able to stop it in time. She was wearing a mint green cotton camisole that hugged her curves very tightly. For bottoms- if they could be called that- she wore matching 'shorts' that looked more like underwear to James. So she wouldn't feel uncomfortable in the hall Lily had also pulled a bathrobe around her arms. James stood aside and let her walk in, momentarily forgetting that he was trying to be a nice guy and looking at her from head to toe.

"Can I sit with you a while?" She asked walking past him and moving her hips slightly more than normal.

"Uh- well- erm… sure," James stammered as he shut the door and followed her to his bed, which she was now sitting on, sans robe. He cleared his throat after several minutes of very uncomfortable silence, "So… anything specific you wanted to talk to me about?"

She looked at him and ignored his question. "You don't have to sit so far away, Potter," she said before shuffling herself up next to him and leaning her head on his chest. When she sighed lazily she heard his heart rate pick up even more than it had already.

"I wanted to apologize for what I did to Sniv- Snape at the funeral. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that. It's just, I heard what he said to you, and- and that _word_ just-" James began stuttering when Lily's fingertips started drawing slow circles on his chest.

She tilted her head upwards to respond. "It's alright, I didn't really pay much attention to him," she lied. The way her head was positioned on his chest made her lips move against him when she spoke, and the breath that accompanied her words travelled upwards and ghosted over his neck.

James clamped his eyes shut and picture everything he could think of that was not Lily related. Sirius, his grandmother, Filch snogging McGonagall, he let out a long breath, and thought to himself 'there. Much better.' that was until Lily's head drooped a little and her hand dropped.

Dropped right on his lap. His pajama clad, very sensitive lap, on account of all his thoughts needing to be sorted out. James sucked in a sharp breath, "_dear merlin," _he said under his breath. Again James thought of everything he could think of: Peter naked, his parents shagging, Shagging? He and Lily could shag… No! He jumped up before Lily could feel his quickly growing hard-on. "Er… Gods Lily, maybe you should head back to your room, it seems like you're really tired and you've had a long day. I not sure you would be very happy with this situation tomorrow." James looked at her and was running his hand through his hair excessively.

"On the contrary, _James_, I would be very happy," Lily replied and looked at him while she was still on his bed. Then she got up and walked slowly towards him. By the time James had enough common sense to form a sentence her face was inches from his and has her whole body pulled against him. She glanced down and blushed, "And it seems… like you would be to." she said finally feeling him against her lower torso. And as she slowly leaned in, James could think of nothing else to do but duck.

He dipped his head and she fell on top of him. He made a strange strangled noise when she landed on top of him, still pressed against his erection. Rolling her off of him and scrambling up from the ground he finally had enough sense to talk, "Shit, Lily, I really- erm- I just- please. Please just get some rest." He said frantically as he tried to readjust his trousers.

She looked furious. He saw her eyes flash defiantly before turning on her heel and storming out the door without another word. James was still trying to relieve the pressure in his pajamas. Unfortunately for James, Sirius had been passing in the hallway when he heard both James and Lily hit the ground. He stopped outside of the door and was about to knock when he heard the end of their conversation and saw Lily exit. As Sirius watched Lily leave, he turned his head to an extremely disheveled James, who appeared to have his 'wand' drawn. "oh yes," Sirius thought, "this will definitely affect the plan.."

Alright guys! That's it for this chapter, let me know what you think and I might not get to update as frequently as I have been, I'm out of town so I won't have much access to my computer. Thanks!-Just playing along


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Yep, still not mine. Still J.K. Rowling characters and general inspiration.

A/N: Okay, here is the next chapter, sorry it's been a while. Things have been super crazy. This one is a bit shorter, but the next one will make up for it, I promise ;)

_"Oh yes," Sirius thought, "This will definitely affect the plan."_

James was about to chase Lily out but decided that if he did he could end up in a very similar situation to the one they had just been in, and she would just become more angry. He looked to Sirius who was gawking at James clearing asking 'what the bloody hell did I miss?'

James swore and started to shut the door but Sirius stepped in the threshold. "What the hell, Prongs?" He asked. James shook his head and opened the door wider for Sirius to come in, knowing he would not leave until James told him what was going on. Sirius walked in and plopped on James' bed before turning to look at him. "Try to tell me the story without creaming," he added before gesturing towards James' still fairly obvious hard-on. James blushed immediately and sat down on an armchair across from Sirius, gathering a blanket in his lap.

"You are never to speak a word of this to anyone. Not even Moony. Clear?" Sirius nodded his head, already assuming that James wouldn't want this spread around not for his sake, but for Lily's. "Lily came in and wanted to talk and she laid in my bed in that _outfit,_" James swallowed deeply and closed his eyes, trying to concentrate, "and she rested her head on me and, _Merlin,_ she must have dozed off and her hand dropped right on me Sirius, _right on me! _How the hell and I _not _ supposed to picture her giving me a hand job every time I see her now? I mean, don't get me wrong, I love her, and I respect the hell out of her, but it was right there! Anyways, I jumped up and she-" he paused, looking at the spot on the ground where they fell and replaying Lily's words in his head '_on the contrary, _James, _I would be very happy_'. Gods, the way his name sounded coming out of her mouth in that tone. Jams shivered and continued, "-She pressed herself against me and was _this _close to kissing me and I ducked and we both fell on the ground- her on top of me by the way," James groaned at the feeling that was still fresh in his mind. "I think you saw the rest. Now if you'll excuse me," He finished, gesturing with one hand to the door and the other to the blanket that was covering his lap. Sirius looked at him several moments longer with a look of thought on his face and nodded as he left James alone.

Lily was furious. She was more than furious. How dare _Potter?_! Was it so hard for her to feel wanted, to belong somewhere? As annoying as Potter was, at least he always said how much he wanted to date her. And now that had changed. _She _had changed so much that not even _Potter _wanted her? Originally she had wanted to use James for a distraction, she thought that he wanted her, but apparently he didn't. Lily Evans, however, was not one to give up. She needed James to want her. He was still a distraction, but now at least she had a purpose. Lily Evans was going to drive James mad. She just had to figure out how to do it.

Just when she was about to start brainstorming, someone knocked on the door. "Evans? If you're indecent fix it, I'm coming in." And he did. Sirius strolled into the room with his eyes covered before he peeked around the room through his fingers.

He stopped next to her bed and looked at her seriously. "Can I just ask you one question?" he didn't wait for a response before continuing, "Why?"

She looked at him, seeming to study his face. "I want a distraction."

His look bordered on disgusted. Without saying a word he turned around and slowly walked out of her room, shutting the door after him.

The next day was extremely uncomfortable for all three of them. Mrs. Potter was not working and she had insisted on making sweets for the other ministry workers for the next day. She, however, liked to bake the muggle way and refused to use magic, meaning that she needed help.

"James, Sirius and Lily!" She called up the stairs.

The three of the wondered out of their rooms, but upon seeing one another, the events of last night rushed back to them. James immediately swallowed hard, blushed, and ran a hand through his hair. Lily set her face in a steely gaze. Sirius held the same troubled and thoughtful look that he had worn after James had told him what'd happened. After they reached the kitchen they saw Mrs. Potter scrambling around the kitchen in an apron. Both groaning Sirius and James simultaneously asked, "Again?".

"Yes boys: again. You know the drill." Upon seeing Lily's confused expression, she explained, "I like to bake cookies the muggle way but I need the three of you all's help. There are aprons in the cupboard." Lily nodded and glanced at James as she passed. He was wearing a yellow frilly apron and was rolling cookie dough out on the counter. Sirius was across from him cutting shapes out with cookie cutters and laying them on several baking trays.

They went on like that for several hours, making what must have been over 12 dozen cookies. An owl came to the window with a letter for Mrs. Potter. She ushered him out of the kitchen and read it quickly. "Alright, you three, I've got to run into work for an hour or two. Just keep baking!" She yelled over her shoulder before stepping into the fireplace and practically disappearing into flames.

Lily had not talked for the entirety of the time they'd been in the kitchen. Instead, she was getting more and more angry over what had happened last night.

"Evans, can you pass the flour?" James muttered, not bothering to look at her. 'That is the last straw', she thought. 'he won't even look at me now? James Potter, who has asked me out every day since second year, won't even look at me?'. She stormed over to him, holding the bag of flour, "Here," She demanded, shoving it into his chest. But he was not ready, and it fell on the floor, exploding into a puff of smoke. James and Lily's fronts were both covered in flour.

"Merlin!" Lily screamed. "What the hell, Potter? Don't ask for something if you're not ready for it! Don't ask me to give you something and not take it!" She screeched as she left, tracking flour behind her as she stomped up the stairs and went back to her room, slamming the door. Several minutes later Sirius appeared at the door.

"Evans... I've decided to help you."

A/N: Well? like I said, shorter. But let me know what you think, please!


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N _Hey guys, sorry its taken me a bit longer than normal. I hope you like this chapter and R/R!

Disclaimer: Characters and inspiration is J.K.'s. can someone tell me if I have to do this before ev-er-y chapter?

_"Evans, I've decided to help you."_

Lily gaped at him for a full minute before regaining her senses. "What?" She questioned in disbelief.

"I've decided to help you in your plight to use dear James as a distraction," he answered smoothly, not phased by her shocked face.

"I- erm- but you're.. I thought-"

Sirius sighed and interrupted her, "I know. I'm his best mate. Why on earth would I help you potentially break his heart?" He paused before sitting on the edge of Lily's bed and looking at her, "I know what it's like to lose your family, Lily. Granted I didn't lose mine the same way you did, but when I left, I played quidditch every day on the grounds of the manor. Nobody could talk me out of it… You need help if you're going to do this Lily. Otherwise you'll make a complete arse of yourself."

Lily continued to look at him after he stopped talking, the use of her first name not evading her notice. "Alright…" She agreed slowly, "So what do I do?"

He smirked, "Oh no, this is not how our situation is going to work. If you want James to be a distraction, you need to do smaller things first. I am not going to tell you what to do, James would know I told you to do it. Find out more about him, plan little things first, then when he's hooked, 'reel him in' as muggles say," he stood up to leave before turning around, "and after you wash the flour off yourself, it might not hurt to wear tank tops more often." He left and Lily stood up to grab a shower.

After she was washed she went back to her room and wrote Alice about all the things that'd happened this week. She was due to come back in the country in two weeks time, but with term beginning only a week after that, Mrs. Potter thought it best for Lily to just stay with them.

She walked into the hall to go down stairs when she saw James and Sirius tramping up the stairs laughing. The former immediately stopped when he saw Lily and they both blushed.

"I thought we were supposed to make cookies until your mum got back," Lily murmured, somewhat embarrassed of her outburst from before.

"We cleaned up the mess and she came back while you were showering. She said she didn't need anymore help," he said simply and shortly.

She mentally cursed herself, but knew that Sirius was right from before. She would have to make the effort, "Potter!" Lily called after him. He poked his head back around the corner, "I wanted to… apologize… for earlier. It was uncalled for. And I was embarrassed and angry…"

She finished lamely and James gawked at her, flabbergasted that she'd just admitted to being wrong. "It's- er- s'alright Evans… for what it's worth… I'm sorry about the other night. I didn't want to make you feel bad, but you can't honestly tell me that you wouldn't have hexed my head off the next day." He gave her a small nod and disappeared around the corner again.

Lily sighed. She supposed it was true. She would have been incredibly angry at James, but she also supposed she would have to pretend like she wasn't to continue her plan… but would it really be that bad? Lily shook her head trying to rid those thoughts from her head.

The next day Lily did not hang around James too much. She did however leave her door open to hear what he was saying. For the past two hours all he and Sirius had talked about was quidditch.

Lily groaned internally. While Sirius' ideas were helpful, how could she do little things for James if he had no other interests besides quidditch. And besides, there was no possible way to make quidditch sexy. Lily scratched out the last thought she had: there was no way for _her _to make quidditch sexy. Lily, who hated flying, imagined herself flailing around in the air. She would need a long lesson before she ever-

She grinned before digging in her clothes to find her best push up bra and deepest cut tank top before calling Sirius into her room.

After she explained her plan to him he smirked. "Alright, Evans, good thinking… Prongs!" He called as he left her room, "I'm tired of sitting around. What d'you say we go play a few games on the pitch?"

Lily heard James agree and she wandered innocently out of her room when she heard them in the hall. "Oh, you two are playing quidditch? Mind if I watch?" They both nodded sure, Sirius rather slyly and James more hesitant, before heading outside to the Potters' personal quidditch pitch.

Two games later and James had beaten Sirius both times. "Evans!" Sirius called to her from the air, "You want to give it a go?"

Lily pretended to think before answering, "I'm not very comfortable flying, and I don't really know the rules…"

She barely had to finish her sentence before James cut in, "I could teach you!" She glanced at Sirius before smiling and accepting James' offer.

"I'm going to take a break while you teach her, I'm starved," Sirius told James before descending and handing his broom to Lily with a wink.

She gave him a small nod before holding his broom at an arms length away. "I'm not quite sure I like this idea…" She muttered, loud enough for James to hear her.

He swooped down and patted behind him on his broom, "Here, Evans. You can get on mine," He offered giving her the sideways smirk she knew was always associated with trouble. She gulped before getting on behind him. He stiffened as she hugged her body to his back and she felt his heart speed up when she pulled her hands to his chest.

Smirked to herself and asked innocently "Is this alright?"

He nodded gruffly before bringing them both higher.

He began gesturing around telling her the rules of quidditch, which she already knew thanks to Marlene talking about it nonstop after every practice. The wind blew and she shivered, unconsciously snuggling tighter into James' back.

"Do you understand?" She finally heard him ask. She nodded and he turned half around to her. "I'm going to do some basic drills and show you how they're done." Upon seeing her eyes closed he sighed, "Evans you have to keep your eyes open so you can see what I'm doing."

As confident as Lily knew she was, she was telling the truth when she said flying made her uncomfortable. She did _not _like the idea of having to watch as they flew around high off the ground at high speed. She shook her head. "No, I think I'm alright just feeling what you're doing."

James shook his head again, "Alright hang on to the broom for a minute." She did as told and he flipped upside down so he was shimmying along the bottom of the broom. "James Potter what the HELL do you think you're doing?!" She screeched.

He chuckled and brought himself right side up, except now he was behind her. He looked down so he could reattach his hands to the broom and gulped. Lily had her arms crossed, pushing up her already pushed up chest. James could clearly see down her shirt, bringing back the memories from when he saw her naked chest. Which in turn brought the memory of just a few days prior when that lovely chest was pushed against him in his bed and on the floor. James had to consciously stop himself from groaning when he dropped his head and saw how close her ass was to his gradually hardening member. He clenched his eyes and resituated himself so he was further back from her. What on earth had he gotten himself into?


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Characters are Jo's! Not mine!

"Alright, Evans. For the last drill that we're going to do- I can't tell you the name because it's a sworn team secret- I want you to pretend that there is someone from the other team right there," he gestured to a place between them and the rings, "We're going to assume no other teammate is open, so we have to keep the quaffle. Go towards him- or her- and act as if you're going to the left," He did it as he spoke, very slowly, "now normally, most people fake and go to the right, but we are going to go down," at this he jerked down under the imaginary wizard and Lily yelped at the sudden movement. James chuckled at her before continuing, "So now you're at the goal. Go ahead and toss it in," he handed her the quaffle and she threw it towards the middle ring. Unfortunately, Lily's arms are not very strong and the ball fell very short, plummeting to the ground. James clicked his tongue, "Well now we have to go get it," he told her before heading to the ground in a nose dive.

"JAMES POTTER! WHAT THE BLOODY HELL! YOU BETTER HOPE WE DON'T SURVIVE BECAUSE I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Lily screeched as she pressed herself back into James, nearly pushing him off the back of the broom.

"Lily, calm down!" He yelled to her as her felt himself slipping off the back. He grabbed her waist quickly and slowed down, so she would stop thrashing, which could throw them both on the ground. Lily stilled after they had slowed down. She was very aware of his arm on her midsection, but she realized she was even more aware of the fluttering feeling in her stomach. Why did she get that feeling?

"James. Go to the ground." She demanded.

He hovered them over the ground before touching his feet and helping her off his broom. Lily got off and tried to walk as quickly as she could to the house, but she got even more shaky and nauseous as she went. Finally her knees got too tired and she kneeled on the ground, clutching her sides trying not to be sick. James put his broom away and did not notice she had left until he turned his head and saw her on the ground. He jogged to her quickly, "Lily, what's the matter?'

She held her hand up to him and shooed him away before leaning over and heaving. James, of course, did not go and when he saw she was getting sick, he slowly rubbed her back, holding her long red hair.

After she had stopped getting sick, Lily was cold and extremely clammy. She tried to get up but her body was still shaking too much and she collapsed again. James hooked his arm under hers and helped her stand.

"Evans, are you okay to walk?" He asked her quietly, knowing she was embarrassed even though her face was ghostly pale.

She thought for a moment before hesitantly shaking her head and slumping into James more. He responded by picking her up and carrying her to the bathroom by their rooms. "Evans, I'll be right back."

Lily sat on the floor still shaking and very clammy. She knew why she got sick. It happened to her almost every month at Hogwarts, especially when she was extremely burdened with homework or prefect duties. She groaned and rubbed her stomach, hoping she would not be sick again. James came back in with a blanket and draped it over her shoulders before sitting on the edge of the bath tub and looking down at her.

"Are you alright now?" he asked after she stopped shivering so much.

Slowly Lily nodded, "Is your mum home?" She asked weakly. She was still very cold, but the blanket he had given her had helped immensely. She also couldn't get enough of the smell of it. It was so woodsy and natural.

"No, she and dad are both at work. Why?"

"Is there a store near your house?" She asked him, dreading the answer.

"I'd have to apparate, but there is one in the middle of town," James answered, confused.

Lily nodded and gripped his arm to raise herself off the floor. "If you tell me where it is, I can go. No need for you to come as well," Trying to convince him.

He continued to hold on to her, as she was still slightly wobbling. "Lily you can hardly stand up. You are not going to apparate somewhere you've never been and end up leaving your arm in my living room." Upon seeing her red face, he decided to change tactics, "Why don't you want me to go for you?"

Lily refused to make eye contact and shrugged her shoulders. "When is your mum supposed to be home?"

"Not for several hours."

Sighing she looked at him, "Do you have your old charms books?"

"No. Well yes, but I have no idea where. We put them in storage after each term." He answered her, incredibly to the point. He was resolved to not let Lily get her way.

"Potter, just tell me were the store is."

"No."

"Yes!"

"Evans!" He yelled, exasperated with her stubbornness, "What is going on?"

"I need to bdjfbrnn" She mumbled

"Excuse me?" He said leaning closer to her.

"I need to go buy pads!" She yelled at him. Immediately after she yelled she closed her mouth and blushed. She knew this was bad. Almost every month since she can remember she has gotten sick before her period started. Unfortunately, with her being sick came her inability to filter what she said. Alice made fun of her for it, and her roommates also figured out that it was the best time to ask her personal questions, because apparently Lily's brain was already so busy, during her period it didn't care to focus on her words. Lily was so mortified that she didn't notice James blushing as well.

"Oh… Well-er- aren't there charms for… That… sort of thing?"

Lily snorted, "Well yeah, but after third year when I tried to cast it on myself and almost ruined my school uniform when it didn't work, I decided to stick to muggle methods. Alice still won't let me live that down.." She added as an after thought. She groaned and covered her mouth when she realized how much she had said. "Look. Fine. You can take me to the store. But you are to wait outside and you are NEVER to speak a word of this to anyone."

James, for the first time in his life looked genuinely uncomfortable, "Yeah, fine."

After coming back from the store, James went to his room and left Lily alone. She sat in her room stewing that her body had betrayed her. Of all the times too get her period it had to be when she was with James, alone, and his mum was nowhere to be found. She was also slightly nervous about how the next week would go. As far as she knew, his parents had work every day. She was normally alright at keeping her temper down, or alright as she could be when James was infuriating her, but she was worried about her other symptoms. If James asked her the wrong question, she would accidently tell him about the plan. She also knew how emotional she got, which is exactly what she was trying to avoid. But maybe it wouldn't be so hard, because each month for one week, Lily was also constantly turned on. It had never been so unbearable that a quick snog in the broom closet couldn't help her, but she did not have any idea what would happen the next few days… If she was being honest she was a little excited

A/N: I know there was not much Jily in this chapter, but I needed to set up some things that are going to happen later on. And for those of you that don't like period stories: This is not one of them! I just needed Lily's side effects from it and I figured that was easier than making Sirius hex her for a whole week. As always, if there is something you'd like to read or you think I could work on some things... Review!


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